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July 2005 Hong Kong Photos

Just 10 minutes walk from the Victoria Peak Tram station along Lugard road is this spectacular view of the Central District, the harbour, and Kowloon. It is especially breath-taking at night.

Just 10 minutes walk from the Victoria Peak Tram station is this spectacular view of the Central District, the harbour, and Kowloon. (click to enlarge)

The Symphony of Lights is a 14-minute spectacular multimedia show combining music and narration, lights, lasers and fireworks, The skyscrapers of Hong Kong island glitter and sparkle in a myriad of colours.

The Symphony of Lights is a short multimedia show combining music and narration, lights, lasers and fireworks on the skyscrapers of Hong Kong island. (click to enlarge)

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Next Stop: Tibet

The green-and-white Star Ferries that have been carrying passengers back and forth between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island since 1898.

The green-and-white Star Ferries that have been carrying passengers back and forth between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island since 1898. (click to enlarge)

The Tian Tan Buddha is regarded as the largest outdoor Buddha statue in the world. Completed in 1993, you climb 260 steps to the statue, which is 26.4m high and weighs 250,000kg, depicting a sitting Buddha in a meditating position. There's a Buddhist wheel on the palm of his right hand, and a swastika (the inverted swastika was the symbol of the Nazi party, the swastika is a symbol of good luck and harmony) on his chest. The right hand is in the position of fearlessness, indicating the compassion of the Buddha to save all beings from their sufferings. The left hand rests on the lap, with palm turning up and fingers pointing slightly down. This is the position of giving for all those that come to seek blessing.

The Tian Tan Buddha, sitting in a meditating position, on Lantau Island is regarded as the largest outdoor Buddha statue in the world. (click to enlarge)

Updated: February 2009. Click on an image to see the FULL size with a caption.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a vibrant, dynamic city that was once a "barren rock" housing a collection of fishing villages when claimed by Britain in 1842 following the First Opium War with China. Hong Kong island was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Nanking. The Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island were handed over in 1860 and a 99-year lease was granted on the New Territories, comprising the area north of Kowloon up to the Shenzhen River and 235 outlying islands, in 1898. Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty on July 1 1997, and is now a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China operating under the "one country, two systems" principle.

Today, Hong Kong is a flourishing international centre with a population of about seven million people. With a land area of more than 1,100 sq km and over 260 outlying islands, Hong Kong is compact and accessible. It consists of Hong Kong Island, separated from the Kowloon Peninsula by Victoria Harbour, and the New Territories that begin north of Kowloon and extend to the Mainland China boundary.

The Central District, the birthplace of modern Hong Kong, used to be called "Victoria" after Queen Victoria. It boasted elegant colonial-style buildings with sweeping verandas and narrow streets filled with pigtailed men pulling rickshaws. That's hard to imagine nowadays. With Central's gleaming glass-and-steel skyscrapers, there's little left of its colonial beginnings.

My Top 5 Memories Of Hong Kong

1. Hong Kong Skyscrapers and Kowloon at night from The Peak

2. Hong Kong skyscrapers with lights, lasers and fireworks in the Symphony Of Lights

3. Hong Kong skyline from the Star Ferry crossing from Kowloon

4. Hong Kong Skyscrapers and Kowloon in the daytime from The Peak

5. Giant Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island